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Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

min answer › question first answered

2019-06-14T14:23:16.383Z

tabling member constituency

Feltham and Heston

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<p>As at 30 June, the number of BAME staff employed in the department for the grades
requested is shown in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>BAME
Staff</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>SCS 2 (Grade 3)</strong></p></td><td><p>Less
than 5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>SCS 1 (Grade 5)</strong></p></td><td><p>13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Grade
7</strong></p></td><td><p>72</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>As ethnic minority
staff remain underrepresented at senior levels, the Civil Service set ambitious targets
in June 2018 to increase the flow of ethnic minority civil servants into the SCS.
Defra is committed to this activity.</p><p> </p><p>Summary representation rates of
ethnic minority SCS by department are published on the Civil Service diversity dashboard
as at December 2018. At that time, Defra had 7.1% BAME SCS representation.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment
he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of The global tree
restoration potential report, published in Science on 5 July 2019 that there are 1.7
billion hectares of treeless land on which 1.2 trillion native tree saplings would
naturally grow, providing immense potential for tree-planting as a cheap and effective
strategy to tackle climate change; and if he will make a statement.

<p>The UK Government recognises the huge potential for nature based solutions in tackling
climate change while also supporting biodiversity. Trees are a major contributor to
nature-based carbon sequestration. There are other natural sequesters including mangroves,
sea grasses, salt marshes, soil and peatlands.</p><p>Through the UK’s International
Climate Finance (ICF, £5.8bn between 2016-2021) the UK funds several programmes in
developing countries that use tree-planting as a strategy for reducing greenhouse
gas emissions, and generating economic benefits for rural communities. For example,
Defra’s investments are expected to restore 500,000 hectares of forest generating
70 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions savings. In Brazil, Defra has invested
£55m to help rural farmers restore nearly 200,000 hectares of forest in the Amazon,
Atlantic Forests, Cerrado and Caatinga biomes through the implementation of low-carbon
agricultural practices. Defra has also invested £10 million to restore up to 20,000
hectares of mangrove forest in Madagascar and Indonesia and recently announced a further
£12.75m to restore mangroves across Latin America and the Caribbean.</p>

<p>Defra is working with the Environment Agency (EA), academics and the UK water industry
to understand the scale of the microplastic pollution problem and to establish detection
methods to identify, characterise and quantify the types of microplastics entering
our rivers. Although there has been substantive research reporting the presence and
impacts of microplastics in the marine environment, little is known about their sources,
release and impact on freshwaters and their ultimate transport to the marine environment.
Defra has commissioned evidence reviews to further understand these issues and will
use the outcomes from these and other research to develop policy options/measures/interventions
for removing plastic pollution from rivers.</p><p> </p><p>There are currently no consistent
sampling, collection or assessment methodologies for measuring micro-plastics in various
environmental media (sediments, water column or biota), which means that routine monitoring
is not practicable. Defra is also working with the EA, academics and water companies
to develop methodologies to enable future monitoring of micro-plastics in wastewater,
sludge and the water environment.</p><p> </p><p>The EA takes steps to stop pollution
causing harm where they can clearly attribute the source of the substance, as without
this information it is not possible for them to take action. One of the sources of
plastic pollution comes from small beads used in industrial processes and EA are working
proactively to reduce the release of these small plastics pellets from the industries
they regulate.</p><p> </p><p>Plastic waste can also provide a source of micro-sized
plastics once in the environment. To address this, the Government has set a target
to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment
Plan (by 2042) and set aside £20 million for research and development managed through
the Plastics Innovation Fund in March 2018. A further £10 million was committed in
the 2018 Autumn Budget for continued/additional plastics research and development
along with £10 million to pioneer innovative approaches to boosting recycling and
reducing litter.</p><p> </p>

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference
to the report entitled, Upstream: Microplastics in UK Rivers, published by Greenpeace
UK on 18 June 2019, what assessment he has made of the level plastic pollution in
UK rivers; and if he will make a statement.

<p>Defra is working with the Environment Agency (EA), academics and the UK water industry
to understand the scale of the microplastic pollution problem and to establish detection
methods to identify, characterise and quantify the types of microplastics entering
our rivers. Although there has been substantive research reporting the presence and
impacts of microplastics in the marine environment, little is known about their sources,
release and impact on freshwaters and their ultimate transport to the marine environment.
Defra has commissioned evidence reviews to further understand these issues and will
use the outcomes from these and other research to develop policy options/measures/interventions
for removing plastic pollution from rivers.</p><p> </p><p>There are currently no consistent
sampling, collection or assessment methodologies for measuring micro-plastics in various
environmental media (sediments, water column or biota), which means that routine monitoring
is not practicable. Defra is also working with the EA, academics and water companies
to develop methodologies to enable future monitoring of micro-plastics in wastewater,
sludge and the water environment.</p><p> </p><p>The EA takes steps to stop pollution
causing harm where they can clearly attribute the source of the substance, as without
this information it is not possible for them to take action. One of the sources of
plastic pollution comes from small beads used in industrial processes and EA are working
proactively to reduce the release of these small plastics pellets from the industries
they regulate.</p><p> </p><p>Plastic waste can also provide a source of micro-sized
plastics once in the environment. To address this, the Government has set a target
to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment
Plan (by 2042) and set aside £20 million for research and development managed through
the Plastics Innovation Fund in March 2018. A further £10 million was committed in
the 2018 Autumn Budget for continued/additional plastics research and development
along with £10 million to pioneer innovative approaches to boosting recycling and
reducing litter.</p><p> </p>

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps
his Department has taken to promote (a) reforestation and (b) prevent deforestation
in each region and nation of the UK in the last five years.

<p>This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England
only.</p><p> </p><p>The Government provides a range of support to landowners for new
woodland creation through Countryside Stewardship, the Woodland Carbon Fund and the
HS2 Woodland Fund. These have been available for some time and are open to new applications
from farmers and landowners who can meet the criteria for funding.</p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p>In the Autumn Budget the Government announced an additional £60 million
for tree planting initiatives, comprising £10 million to fund urban tree planting
and £50 million for a Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme. This is in addition to the
Government’s kick start investment in the Northern Forest, and establishment of the
Forestry Investment Zone (FIZ) pilot in northeast Cumbria.</p><p> </p><p>There are
regulations in place to prevent unauthorised deforestation, primarily the Environmental
Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999, as amended. If
plans for deforestation are determined to have significant environmental impact and
exceed the threshold in the regulations, landowners must gain Forestry Commission
consent before any change of land use can take place. If trees are removed without
consent then restoration can be ordered. Under the provisions given in Part II of
the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended) proposals for deforestation must, like most tree
felling, have a Felling Licence from the Forestry Commission.</p>

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment
he has made of the potential for (a) tree-planting and reforestation and (b) the prevention
of deforestation to help the UK meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

<p>Our English Tree Strategy will detail our national afforestation initiatives to
help address the UK Government’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. The consultation
for the English Tree Strategy will be launched later this year. Our Tree Champion
is leading our engagement with forestry, environmental and other stakeholders, to
inform our development of the Strategy.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed
to tackling climate change, as demonstrated by legislating to end the UK’s contribution
to global warming by 2050 by enshrining a net zero emissions target in law.</p><p>
</p><p>Tree planting can be a major contributor to nature-based carbon sequestration.
Our manifesto committed to planting 11 million trees by 2022, and we are committed
to the aspiration of reaching 12% woodland cover in England by 2060.</p><p> </p>